Paolo Costantini - 1701501 - Sound Design
Alongside the art direction for Pandora's Box, the sound design and use of tone and tension building via audio cues and use of the soundtrack. These are vitally important to the setting of Pandora's Box, as it's nature as a psychological horror means that in many cases, sound can be used to convey hints and subtle ideas to the player with far more finesse than visual queues. Hallucination Sections Throughout the hallucination sections of Pandora's Box, the soundtrack is slow, almost out of earshot for Pandora and as such, the player too as it builds to louder moments whenever the player reaches the puzzles in the hospital. This is the case to create a distant and detached sensation in the player, subtly hinting at the hallucinatory nature of the clean and pristine hospital sections when the player is exploring and then hinting at how close Pandora is to getting closer to sanity when answering and completing puzzles. In addition to this, all the sound effects of when Pandora interacts with the objects in the puzzles and the hospital around her are echoing and distant too, sounding almost as if they aren't real, which again is a subtle hint to the player (and Pandora) that the world she is seeing is not really right. Finally, in these sections – when Pandora speaks with the Narrator, his voice seems to shift tone and volume constantly, hints of madness creeping in each time they speak. Real World Sections When Pandora's hallucinations subside, and she finds herself in the real world once more, the soundtrack is much louder but also highly repetitive, so as to build a great deal of unseen tension much like other psychological horrors, particular the famous examples of Halloween and Psycho, both of which use a similar tactic to build unseen tension and unease in the viewer, just as Pandora's Box does so for the player. Additionally, when Pandora interacts with the real world in these sections, the sound effects are almost painfully loud and stand out incredibly, as if Pandora's – and by extension the players – auditory hallucinations have subsided and are now adjusting to the volume of the real world. During these flashes of reality, particularly the first flash of reality, the soundtrack would be offensively loud, as Pandora's heart begins to race and the player – particularly those wearing headphones – can hear her heart thumping as her ears and head pound in response to the terror she is experiencing in response to the new found situation she is in, though this quickly fades when her hallucination begins once again. Dialogue When Pandora and the Narrator are conversing with one another, Pandora's voice is audibly shaky and unsure at first, though with each step closer to sanity she takes, it grows stronger, more profound and inquisitive, whilst the Narrators voice changes depending on his goal. If he is tasked with helping Pandora, he sounds methodical and precise, but also understanding and caring, as though he has seen people in the situation Pandora is in before, yet if he has been tasked with hindering her escape, he sounds maniacal at times, altering between composed and unhinged at a moments notice and with little reason.